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"Climate: Carbon Tax Would Halve Deficit in 10 Years -- Report"

"A report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service circulated yesterday evening backed up supporters' claim that pricing carbon could be a powerful tool for reining in the federal deficit."

"The CRS report found that Congress could cut the federal deficit in half in 10 years by enacting a $20 per metric ton carbon tax that rises 5.6 percent annually. This prediction relies upon the Congressional Budget Office’s August estimate that the U.S. government would run a deficit of $2.3 trillion between 2012 and 2022. CBO has estimated that the carbon tax would raise $1.2 trillion over the next decade.

The non-partisan budget agency’s estimate did leave open the possibility that the federal deficit could reach as high as $10 trillion over the same period if expiring tax credits are extended, Medicare payments to physicians do no decrease, and if the spending cuts made under last summer’s deficit reduction law are repealed."